No attempt to shoot down N.Korea rocket: Japan govtTokyo (AFP) Dec 12, 2012 -
Japan did not try to shoot down a North Korean rocket as it passed over its southern island chain of Okinawa, the government said Wednesday, strongly condemning the launch.

Tokyo confirmed the launch had taken place and that said it believed parts of the rocket had fallen into the sea off the Korean peninsula, with another part dropping into the ocean near the Philippines.

"Launch time was around 9:49 am (0049 GMT). The missile that North Korea calls a satellite passed over Okinawa around 10:01. We launched no interception," a government statement said.

Japan had been on high alert since the 13-day lift-off window opened, despite a suggestion from Pyongyang that it could delay the much-criticised blast-off.

Tokyo deployed missile defence systems to intercept and destroy the rocket if it looked set to fall on its territory, with missile batteries in and around Tokyo and in the Okinawan archipelago.

Japan reacted quickly to the launch on Wednesday, with national media informed by government-run alert system.

"It is extremely regrettable that North Korea went through with the launch despite our calls to exercise restraint," chief government spokesman Osamu Fujimura said.

"Our country cannot tolerate this. We strongly protest to North Korea."

The impoverished but nuclear-armed nation insists the long-range rocket launch -- its second this year after a much-hyped but botched mission in April -- is for peaceful scientific purposes.

But the United States, and allies South Korea and Japan, say Pyongyang's launch was a disguised ballistic missile test that violates UN resolutions triggered by its two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

Philippines expects N. Korea rocket debrisManila (AFP) Dec 12, 2012 -
Debris from a rocket launched by North Korea Wednesday was expected to fall off the main Philippine island of Luzon, an official said, without confirming if that had happened.

"North Korea has launched their rocket at 8:49am (0049 GMT) Philippine time. It is expected to reach our area in about 30 minutes," civil defence chief Benito Ramos said, urging fishermen to avoid the northern coast of Luzon.

"Our people should avoid the Pacific Ocean from Santa Ana (a northeast Luzon town) to Polillo island," he said in repeated radio broadcasts.

North Korea carried out the widely criticised rocket launch on Wednesday, seen by many in the international community as a disguised ballistic missile test

There was no immediate report on the success of the launch, which Pyongyang insists is a scientific mission aimed at putting a satellite in orbit.

Ramos said the Philippines did not have the technology to track the trajectory of the rocket and had asked South Korea for guidance.

North Korea launched a long-range rocket on Wednesday, in defiance of UN sanctions threats over what Pyongyang's critics insist is a disguised ballistic missile test.

"It (the rocket) has been launched," a South Korean defence ministry spokesman told AFP without elaborating further.

The Yonhap news agency, citing a government source, said the rocket had taken off from the Sohae satellite launch centre at 9:51 am (0051 GMT) and was immediately detected by navy vessels deployed by Seoul in the Yellow Sea.

There was no immediate report on the success of the launch, but the Japanese government said the missile had passed its southern island chain of Okinawa around 12 minutes after take-off.

"The missile that North Korea calls a satellite passed over Okinawa around 10:01 (am). We launched no interception," it said.

Japan had deployed missile defence systems to intercept and destroy the rocket if it looked set to fall on its territory.

The United States had also deployed ships from its Pacific fleet equipped with ballistic missile defences.

Yonhap said the three-stage rocket's first stage had separated as scheduled and splashed down in the sea off South Korea's southwest coast.

In Seoul, President Lee Myung-Bak called an emergency meeting of his National Security Council to discuss the implications of the launch.

Japan's government found the launch intolerable, chief government spokesman Osamu Fujimura said.

"It is extremely regrettable that North Korea went through with the launch despite our calls to exercise restraint," he said.

The launch followed reports in the South Korean media and satellite imagery analysis by US experts that suggested the rocket had been removed from the launch pad to repair an apparent technical problem.

North Korea had originally provided a December 10-22 launch window, but extended that by a week on Monday when a "technical deficiency" was discovered in the first-stage control engine.

North Korea last attempted to launch its three-stage Unha-3 carrier in April, but the rocket exploded shortly after take-off.

A successful launch this time would carry profound security implications, marking a major advance in the North's bid to mate an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capability with its nuclear weapons programme.

Washington and its allies insist the launch is a disguised ballistic missile test that violates UN resolutions triggered by Pyongyang's two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.

In 2006 the Security Council imposed an embargo on arms and material for ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction. It also banned exports of luxury goods and named individuals and companies to be subject to a global assets freeze and travel ban.

In 2009, it imposed a ban on North Korea's weapons exports and ordered all countries to search suspect shipments.

The United Nations and European Union had joined calls for Pyongyang to cancel the mission and warned of more sanctions if it pushed ahead.

According to Japanese reports, Japan, the United States and South Korea have agreed to demand the Security Council strengthen sanctions on North Korea to levels that match those on Iran.

That would include increasing the list of financial institutions, entities and individuals subject to asset freezes.

The North's decision to launch the rocket in winter has led analysts to suggest a political imperative behind the timing, which may have overruled technical considerations.

New leader Kim Jong-Un was believed to be extremely keen that the launch fell around the first anniversary of the death of his father and former leader Kim Jong-Il on December 17.

Russia had joined the calls for Pyongyang to cancel the mission, while China, North Korea's sole major ally and its biggest trade partner and aid provider, had expressed concern.

Chronology of North Korean missile developmentSeoul (AFP) Dec 12, 2012 -
North Korea on Wednesday launched a long-range rocket which Japanese authorities said passed over its southern island chain of Okinawa. It was the second launch this year, after a failed attempt in April.

North Korea has said the rocket is aimed at putting a satellite in orbit, but much of the international community sees the launch as a thinly veiled ballistic missile test, banned by UN resolutions.

These are key dates in the reclusive nation's missile programme:

Late 1970s: Starts working on a version of the Soviet Scud-B (range 300 kilometres or 186 miles). Test-fired in 1984

July 5, 2006: North test-fires seven missiles, including a long-range Taepodong-2 which explodes after 40 seconds

July 15, 2006: UN Security Council adopts Resolution 1695, demanding halt to all ballistic missile activity and banning trade in missile-related items with the North

Oct 9, 2006: North conducts underground nuclear test, its first

Oct 14, 2006: Security Council approves Resolution 1718, demanding a halt to missile and nuclear tests. Bans the supply of items related to the programmes and of other weapons

April 5, 2009: North Korea launches long-range rocket which flies over Japan and lands in the Pacific, in what it says is an attempt to put a satellite into orbit. The United States, Japan and South Korea see it as a disguised test of a Taepodong-2

N. Korea extends rocket launch window over ChristmasSeoul (AFP) Dec 10, 2012
North Korea on Monday extended the window for its planned rocket launch by one week due to technical problems but stressed it was pushing on with the mission in the face of international condemnation.
A day after announcing a review of the original December 10-22 launch schedule, the Korean Committee of Space Technology said it was extending the window to December 29.
In a statement carr ... read more

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